Age is just a Number
by Alvin's Hot Juicebox
Summary: Slight AU&Post-game\\Set about a year after saving the world, and a week after Shing and Amber's wedding, Richea just wanted to do nothing like read her book. But Hisui comes by to steal her attention away, he ends up getting into a much-needed conversation about Richea's age and how it affects their relationship.


A/N: This was my response to those who didn't like Hisui/Richea because they think that it's gross to have a 1000(+20-ish)-year old and a (21/23-ish year old?) paired together. I mean, there's Edward and Bella. No one thinks that's wrong. I think.―Nian

* * *

Richea decided today that she would relax and read a book. She was still frazzled by the stress of Shing and Amber's wedding last week.

Hopefully, it would be the only stress she would have in her―now―normal life.

But someone she had grown very accustomed to, specifically Amber's brother, had visited her and felt all the more freedom to annoy her and ruin her stress-free day.

Sometimes she wondered why she ever hung out with him, he was annoying, obstinate, and temperamental. But then she realized he had this double kind of charm, qualities that always drew her to him, like how caring he was, sweet, and thoughtful he was. It's just that most of the time he acted like a big asshole to cover up how un-manly all those qualities were.

Though she scowled and would slap his arm a lot, a sign that she had grown used to him, she really was pretending. She would have never talked to him again if she didn't accept him for all the little bits and pieces that made up his personality.

For the past hour, she had been reading the same paragraph, because Hisui would annoy her before she could finish it. They were simple poking on the arm, tugging at her ridiculously long hair, and pulling at the hem of her casual dress, as if that would make her succumb to appeasing his boredom any sooner.

She put on the façade that she wasn't bothered by his attempts, but that soon changed when he suddenly plucked the book out of her hands. She knew that he would crave her fight against him, so she refused to give him that satisfaction.

"You," she said with annoyance, pointing an accusing finger at him, then continuing, "are acting like a child."

"Says the old lady." He rebutted, unfazed. She scoffed and crossed her arms.

"You don't say that to a girl, Hisui. Not even to your girlfriend." She said knowingly, rolling her eyes. She tested reaching out for her book with one arm, but he pulled it farther away from her grasp.

"But you are one." He said bluntly. "You're a thousand and, what, 22 years old?"

"Age is a number." She said and frowned at him. "The time I've had truly alive was only about my life awake."

"But you've―"

"Yes, I've been living in your grandmother and mother and sister's hearts, but that doesn't mean I was alive. I've only been able to feel people's feelings. I was never alive, more like a spirit of someone I used to be. Weak echoes of 'let's stop Creed!' and all, I was just the conscience of my thoughts and wills when I went to sleep." She said, exhaling loudly at the end of her lengthy explanation.

He took this thought into consideration. "I see, so that makes a lot of sense about how weirded out you were when you came here with your own body."

She nodded.

He shrugged.

"I used to think that you were just living through my sister, seeing what she saw, feeling what she felt, living her life in your eyes." He said.

"No, it was much different, boring, and weird for me." She said and scrunched her nose, almost shuddering at the memory of those times.

"Was it really _that _bad being my sister?" He asked.

"You have no idea." She said and sighed. "Give me back my book, please?" She added with a cute pout to her face, clasping her hands together and widening her eyes as she looked up at him.

"Not without a kiss." He said and grinned devilishly, holding the book as far away as his arm let him as he leaned down closer to her face. She blushed, why would he even suggest that?

"Oh, so now you want to kiss the old lady?" She asked and then laughed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"You're old?" He asked. "Not with those looks."

She almost slapped his arm again, always too afraid to actually slap his person, at the notion that he would only like her for her looks. But she stopped herself. She was much more refined.

"So you would only date old ladies if they were attractive?" She asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. It wasn't a surprising idea, actually to her, she had read enough fantasy novels to understand that no matter the thought that if they were a three hundred year old vampire or an unexplainable 600 year old immortal, the mortal would always unconditionally love their supernatural lover.

Did the same go for her?

"No one else is like you." He said and gave her a serious smile. "Well, at least, no one else can put up with me."

"Way to kill it." She said and sighed. "But I'll give you this."

And she grabbed his shoulders and brought him down to meet his lips with hers, kissing him slowly.

Once he got over his shock, he quickly put one hand on her cheek and pushed his lips gently against hers. If she were made out of butter, she would have melted to a pile of buttery goo at how mushy and sweet his lips were against his.

She liked this. She loved this. She was waiting for this to happen the entire time.

"I love you." Hisui blurted when they separated. She blinked in surprise, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. He gently pushed his forehead against hers and looked away from her, his cheeks as red as a tomato.

She giggled. The same went for her. He would always love her no matter what made her old. And he would be the only person to love her beyond that number that deemed them morally inappropriate for each other.

With a wry smile she cupped his face in her hands again, making him look at her and she kissed him again. This time much longer and much happier.


End file.
